Means for lubricating curved railroad track rails



Oct. 23, 1962 R. M. SOULE, JR

MEANS FOR LUBRICATING CURVED RAILROAD TRACK RAILS 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed July 1, 1959 INVENTOR. RM. SOULE JR.

W HIS ATTORNEY 1962 R. M. SOULE, JR 3,059,724

MEANS FOR LUBRICATING CURVED RAILROAD TRACK RAILS Filed July 1, 1959 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 A F|G.2.

y m 34 S Ua/{j 24" FIG. 3.

OIL SUPPLY INVENTOR TO CONTROL UNIT 39 R. M. SQULE JR.

HIS ATTORNEY tates atent Ofifice 3,059,724 7 MEANS FOR LUBRICATHNG CURVED RAILROAD TRACK RAILS Robert M. Soule, J12, Chattanooga, Tenn, assignor to General Railway Signal Company, Rochester, N.Y. Filed July 1, 1959, Ser. No. 824,278 3 Claims. (Cl. 184-3) This invention relates to a means for lubricating curved rail sections of a railroad track, particularly in classification yards where the curved track sections are of necessity rather sharp.

In railroad classification yards the cars are usually pushed over a hump on a single track which converges into numerous tracks situated on a grade which gradually levels out to a flat yard where the cars are accumulated into various groups on the separate tracks. It is desirable that the cars all travel down the grade and enter their respective destination tracks at approximately the same speed to facilitate proper coupling and prevent any undue damage because of excess speed. So far as possible, the excess speed is suitably controlled by automatic car retarders.

It is also desirable that the cars maintain a minimum speed to carry them to their destination. Such speed may be hampered to a certain extent by the number of sharp track curves the car is required to negotiate as considerable friction is set up between the head of the rail, the wheel flanges and wheel treads at certain times. This is particularly noticeable in dry weather as compared to wet weather. Also, such friction, when set up, causes considerable wheel flange wear, as well as undesirable noises.

The present invention proposes a means whereby the tread and inner surface of the car wheel flanges as well as the top and side of the rail head will be suitably automatically lubricated at all times to help prevent such wheel flange wear and also lessen the retarding friction between the wheels and the rail head to the extent that the car will roll over the curved track sections with a minimum of speed variation. Such a lubricating system is considered much more advantageous than present methods of manually applying a lubricating ingredient to the rail heads at various locations at quite frequent intervals.

In general, the present invention comprises a means whereby lubricating oil is automatically sprayed on the top of the rail head prior to the passage of each car past a certain point in the track just prior to the entrance of the car into the converging track sections. Such oil is picked up by the surfaces of the car Wheel treads and flanges which not only oils the wheel tread and flange surfaces but is also carried on to the curved sections of the track rail heads located further on' down the track.

The track rail oiling system of the present invention is provided with a directional control means which renders the device inoperative when a car or a hump locomotive travels in the reverse direction up the hump. Also, a temperature control means heats the oil during cold weather conditions to provide a constant-viscosity supply of oil. The oil flow is controlled by means of an electromagnetic val-ve which in turn is controlled by a wheel contactor operated by the wheel flanges of the car passing thereover.

Further objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent or pointed out as the description of the invention progresses with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a general plan view of the entrance end of a typical railroad classification yard and shows the oiling means of the present invention applied thereto in diagrammatic form;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged sectional view of one of the track rails and shows the structural means of mounting the rail oiler spray device to the track rail, as taken on the line 2-2 of FIG. 1 and also illustrates the manner in which the oil globules are deposited on the rail head;

FIG. 2A is a fragmentary view of the rail head portion of FIG. 2 and illustrates the manner in which a car wheel spreads the oil globules along the rail head as it moves along the rail;

FIG. 3 is a diagrammatic view of the layout of the pressure regulating apparatus of the present invention; and,

FIG. 4 is a diagrammatic view showing the control circuits for the hump signal and the fluid control unit of the present invention.

With particular reference first to FIG. 1 of the drawings, there has been shown that part of a single track rail section 11 which is located behind the usual hump or group retarder 12 and ahead of the first track switch 13 which is the beginning of a typical classification yard or group of tracks, such as shown for example in the patent to F. W. Brixner et al. No. 2,194,352, dated March 19, 1940. As the cars pass through the hump or group retarder 12, their speed is governed in accordance with their weight, as is the usual practice; so that each car passes through the first track switch 13 at an average safe speed.

After leaving the first track switch 13, the moving car may be required to negotiate several curved track sections, such as the curved track sections 14 and 15, and several other track switches before it reaches its destination track. Suitable car retarders (not shown) are provided along the route to control excess speeds. However, it is also important that each car retain enough momentum to carry it to its destination, hence the necessity to eliminate all possible friction between the car wheels and the rails as the car travels through the curved track sections.

The lubricating system of the present invention is proposed to help alleviate such conditions and is preferably located in the track section 11 between the hump or group retarder 12 and the first track switch 13. The lubricating device in general comprises two manifolds 16 and 17, one located on the outside of each track rail 18 and 19 of the track section Ll. These manifolds are attached to their respective track rails by means of a plurality of supporting members S.

As shown in enlarged detail in FIG. 2, each supporting member S is fastened to the base of the rail 19 and com prises a base plate 20, two clamping lugs 21 and 22, a bolt 23 and a threaded stud 24. The clamping lug 21 is fastened to the base plate 21} by means of the bolt 23 and clamps against the base of the rail 19 when the nut 25 is tightened down. Similarly, the stud 24 is provided with two nuts 26 which, when tightened down, clamp the lug 22 and the plate 20 together against the base of the rail 19. The threaded stud 24 extends upward to a heighth approximately the same as the rail 19, and has a flat plate 27 suitably attached thereto, as by welding or the like. Also, loosely mounted on the stud 24 is another clamping plate 28 which is formed with a curved hook portion 29 at its free end. The manifold 17, which is in the form of a pipe, is then clamped between the plate 27 and the hooked portion 29 of the plate 28 by means of another nut 30 which is threaded on the stud 24. The other manifold 16 is supported to the other rail 18 in a similar manner.

Each manifold 16 and 17 is provided with a plurality of plugs 31 which are threaded into or otherwise suitably fastened into openings in the manifold. These plugs 31 are spaced at intervals along the same plane throughout the length of the manifold and are each provided with a restricted orifice to permit the passage of oil under pressure therethrough. The manifolds 16 and 17 are mounted in a position so that their plugs 31 are tilted slightly olf vertical center towards the rail so that the oil spray emitting therefrom will carry over the center of the rail head and fall on the rail head and the opposite or flange side of the rail head, as illustrated in FIG. 2. Thus, the passage of a car Wheel 63 over the oil globules 64 deposited on the rail serves to distribute the oil over the wheel tread and its flange and spread it over the rail head and its flange side as well, as illustrated in FIG. 2A.

Wind guards 32 and 33 are fastened to the webs of the rails 18 and 19 by means of bolts 34. As shown in FIG. 2, these wind guards are of substantial Z shape in cross section with one side extending under the head of the rail and the other side extending outward and above the head of the rail to prevent a cross wind from disturbing the normal path of the oil spray. The center wall or section 33A of the wind guard 33 acts as a trough or basin to catch all excess oil which may be drained off if desired.

The length of the manifolds 16 and 17 is equal to, or greater than, the circumference of an ordinary car wheel, the object being to spray oil on a section of the rail over a distance great enough to cover the entire surface of the wheel flange and tread as the wheel passes thereover. Also, the wind guards 32 and 33 should be longer than the manifolds 16 and 17 which they protect, so as to give the oil spray as much protection as possible and permit the oil to cover the selected area of the rails.

Referring again to the general organization and mode of operation of the lubricating system of the present invention as shown in FIGS. 1, 3 and 4, oil is supplied under pressure to the manifolds 16 and 17 from the storage tank 35 by means of car wheels passing over the rail 19 in the track section 11, the flange of said car wheels operating a wheel contactor 36 located next to the rail 19 in the usual manner. A supply of oil under pressure is maintained at all times by apparatus including an air compressor 37, a pressure regulator 38 and a control unit 39.

The air compressor 37 may be of any well known type wherein pressure is maintained at a certain level by automatic means. The compressed air is supplied to the top of the supply tank 35 through the pressure regulator apparatus 33 which comprises (see FIG. 3) two manual control valves 40 and 41 and a pressure regulating valve 42, which valves may be preset to the desired setting. Fluid oil is forced out of the supply tank 35 and fed to the control unit 39 through a suitable filter 43. The control unit 39 comprises (see FIG. 4) a pressure accumulator 44 and an electromagnetic valve 45. The various units just described are connected together by suitable pipe connections or rubber hoses 46, 47, 48, 49 and the control unit 39 feeds oil to the manifolds 16 and 17 through connections 50 and 51. A pressure relief valve 65 is provided in the top of the supply tank 35 to vent the air supply in the event of an excess pressure condition which may be caused by faulty operation of the air compressor 37.

The wheel cont-actor 36 may be of any well known type wherein the passing of a car wheel causes the flange of said wheel to depress a treadle 52 which causes the closing of an electrical contact 53, such as shown for example in FIG. 4 in diagrammatic form. This wheel contactor 36 may be of the type wherein the treadle plunger is spring biased so that each wheel operates the contact 53, or it may be of the type wherein the treadle plunger is time controlled by a dash pot or the like so that the contact 53 will not open until the last wheel of the car has passed thereover.

In operation, the complete system is controlled by a service switch 54 which, when closed supplies energy to the treadle contact 53 through the wire 55. When the treadle 52 is depressed by a car wheel passing thereover, contact 53 closes to supply energy to the electromagnetic valve 45 through wire 56. With the valve 45 energized and open, oil under pressure is permitted to spray onto the rails 18 and 19 ahead of the car where it lubricates the wheel flanges as previously described. Thus, it can be seen that when the car reaches the curved sections 14 and 15 of the track rails where the wheel flanges bear against the side of the outside rail, there will be sufficient lubrication between the wheel surfaces and the lead and side of the rail head to minimize the friction therebetween.

In classification yards it is sometimes necessary to pull a car or cars back out of the yard and over the entrance track 11. In such instances, when a locomotive enters the entrance track 11 to retrieve the cars, a suitable hump signal 57 is employed and the signal is manually changed from green (clear) to red (danger), indicating that a locomotive is in the yard and no more cars should be allowed to enter until the locomotive returns. The control for this hump signal 57 (see FIG. 4) is through an electrical contact 58 which is also operated by the service switch 54. Thus, when the service switch 54 is reversed to change the hump signal 57 from a green indication G to a red indication R, power is also cut off to the contact 53 of the wheel contactor 36, so that movement of the locomotive or cars over the track section 11 in either direction will not operate the lubricating system.

The lubricating system of the present invention is also provided with a means for heating the oil supply under adverse cold weather conditions. Such heating means comprises an electrical heating unit 59 located in the supply tank 35. This heating unit is controlled by means of a service switch 60 which, when closed, provides energy to the heating unit 59 through a tempearture operated thermal unit 61. When temperature conditions warrant, the switch 60 is closed and the heating unit 59 is under the automatic control of the thermal unit 61. The heating unit 59 may be of the type which has a selfcontained thermal unit which cuts oft" the energy when the oil supply reaches the desired temperature.

From the foregoing description and with reference to the drawings, it should be seen and understood that a lubricating system has been provided which will automatically alleviate friction conditions which ordinarily exist between the wheel flanges and treads of the wheels of a railroad car and the track rails when such car is negotiating a sharp curve in the track. The system is controlled in such a manner that it is only operable when cars are entering the classification yard and may be rendered inactive at all other times.

Having shown and described one form which the present invention can assume, it is desired to be understood that modifications and deviations could be made therein without departing from the spirit of the invention, except as limited by the scope of the appending claims.

What I claim is:

1. An organization for lubricating railroad track sections comprising, supply means for at times supplying oil under pressure, a nozzle connected to said supply means and mounting means for said nozzle spaced away from a rail of said track section a distance whereby said nozzle and said mounting means are out of the way of the wheel flanges of a railway car passing thereover, said mounting means retaining said nozzle angled to spray oil directly on the upper surface of the rail head.

2. An organization for lubricating railroad track sections comprising, an oil supply, means for maintaining said oil supply under regulated pressure, a nozzle, means for connecting said oil supply with said nozzle, said means including a control valve temporarily actuated by railway car passage, mounting means for said nozzle located adjacent to but spaced away from said railhead a distance whereby said nozzle and said mounting means are out of the way of the wheel flanges of a railway car passing thereover, said mounting means rigidly retaining said nozzle tilted from the vertical to spray oil directly on the upper surface of said railhead and shield means mounted on the opposite side of said rail-head to said retaining means and protruding above said railhead to minimize the effect of the flow of air on the spray of oil.

3. The organization of claim 2 wherein said oil supply contains a heating element and means sensitive to outside atmospheric temperature are provided for maintaining said oil at a substantially constant temperature.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Gray Jan. 28, 1930 Stem Oct. 8, 1935 Morgan et al Nov. 27, 1945 Livingston Apr. 4, 1950 Mercier Nov. 26, 1957 

